The number of new HIV infections jumped to 368 in 2009, an increase from 326 in 2008 and the highest since 1992.

The 13 percent increase is due largely to infections among sexually active young men, particularly those who are gay or bisexual, according to Tuesday’s report from the Minnesota Department of Health. Of the 95 new infections reported among 15- to 24-year-olds, 77 involved males.

Increased testing can sometimes drive up HIV figures by identifying people who have been infected for years, but that wasn’t a factor last year, said Peter Carr, manager of the health department’s HIV and STD section.

“We do not think that the case increase is simply explained by more testing, since there is no indication that public clinics provided more HIV tests in 2009,” Carr said.

At the same time, there is evidence that sexually active people at higher risk of HIV are more apt to seek testing. Of the young adults infected with HIV last year, 42 percent had previously been tested.

Increased testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases has been a positive factor, said Fred Evans, community health coordinator for Fremont Community Clinics in Minneapolis. Outreach and screening by his and other organizations may partly explain the drop in new HIV cases in Hennepin County — from 142 in 2008 to 121 last year.

Offsetting that progress were increases in Ramsey, Anoka and Dakota counties. Together, the three counties reported 111 new HIV cases last year — 43 more than reported in 2008.

Testing can reduce the spread of HIV by identifying infected people before they spread the virus to others, but Evans said more education is needed along with more frank talks with adolescents about sex and STD risks.

“If we don’t make this message as flashy as the rest of the messages young people are getting, we’re going to lose this battle,” he said.

Carr said complacency also has set in as medications have improved and allowed people with HIV to stave off an AIDS diagnosis and stay alive.

“A young, 20-year-old gay man is not seeing his friends dying right and left like he would have in the 1980s,” he said.

Another misperception, state officials said, is that HIV is an urban problem. The increase in Dakota and Anoka counties suggests otherwise. New infections also were up in Hennepin County when Minneapolis was excluded.

In suburban areas, the trend is more HIV infections among young men who are sexually active with other men, said Luisa Pessoa-BrandÃ£o, the state Health Department’s HIV/AIDS surveillance coordinator.

“Some of them are still living at home. They may be going to college or something, but they’re not on their own,” Pessoa-BrandÃ£o said.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, an infection that is primarily spread through sexual activity or the sharing of infected needles for tattoos, body piercing or drug use. When the virus destroys enough of the immune system, an infected person is diagnosed with AIDS.

Since HIV emerged in the 1980s, it has infected at least 9,176 Minnesotans. Of those, 3,003 have died.

Tuesday’s figures are only preliminary. Final figures will be released in mid-April, when the state typically issues its annual report. Carr said the state noticed increases in HIV cases in 2009 and alerted clinics and prevention advocates in August and November.

Two positive statistics will likely disappear when the final data comes out. The state so far has recorded only 21 HIV-related deaths last year. The annual death toll hasn’t been lower than 50 in Minnesota at any point in the AIDS epidemic. Pessoa-BrandÃ£o said the 2009 numbers will increase once death certificates are reviewed.

Similarly, only 27 percent of people with new HIV infections last year had AIDS at the time or within one year of diagnosis. While that would be a historic low, the figure will change as people who tested HIV positive late in 2009 develop AIDS in 2010.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in News

Drivers along Ayd Mill Road in St. Paul call it one of the most pockmarked roadways in town. Winter melt, age, traffic intensity, deferred maintenance and questionable construction all have taken their toll. St. Paul city officials are continually grappling with the challenge of funding road repair for a growing residential and business population. Outsiders sometimes make unfair comparisons to...

St. Paul Saints general manager Derek Sharrer's stomach was doing backflips as he watched No. 16 seed Maryland-Baltimore County beat No. 1 overall seed Virginia. The team he’s in charge of was about to be out $10,000.

A marker on the Hillcrest Golf Course proclaims the Hillcrest Knoll to be Ramsey County's highest hilltop, though folks in Arden Hills and Shoreview might dispute it. Soon, the 1920s-era golf course may have another claim to fame -- housing, and lots of it. At Larpenteur Avenue and McKnight Road on the city's Greater East Side, Hillcrest represents 112 acres...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The hunt for the serial bomber who has been leaving deadly explosives in packages on Austin doorsteps took a new, more sinister turn Monday when investigators said the fourth and latest blast was triggered along a street by a nearly invisible tripwire.